Reports and forms

Saving reports as files on a disk

If you don't want to use your printer to print or display a report, you can save it as a file on a disk. When you save a report as a file, you have the flexibility to do whatever you want with it: you can further modify it using a word-processing program, move it to another computer for printing or simply save it for your permanent records.

Reports can be saved in the following formats:

• Tab-Delimited Text File.   When you save a report in tab-delimited format, the individual pieces of information in the report are separated by tab characters. For example, if the last name Martin and the address 300 Roundhill Drive appear in a report of customer names, a tab character will appear between Martin and 300 Roundhill Drive in the file.

• Comma-Separated Text File.  When you save a report in comma-separated format, the individual pieces of information in the report are separated by commas. For example, if the last name Martin and the address 300 Roundhill Drive appear in a report of customer names, a comma will appear between Martin and 300 Roundhill Drive in the file. (Individual pieces of information that actually contain commas are surrounded by quotation marks.)

• Simple Text.  When you save a report in text format, the individual pieces of information are separated by spaces, and the appearance of the report is as similar as possible to a printed version of the report. (The degree of similarity between the file and the printed report depends on the type of computer and the fonts you're using in the report.)

• HTML Formatted Text File.  When you save a report in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) format, the report is saved in a format capable of being viewed in World Wide Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

• PDF (Portable Document Format).  When you save information in a PDF file format, the information can be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free application distributed by Adobe Systems, which is available at the Adobe website.

Step by step

• To save a report as a file on a disk